Long Hot Summer of 1967

No matter what the cause may be, it has been proven time and time again that people usually riot and rebel when the climate is unbearably hot.  The summer of 1967, known as the “long hot summer of ‘67”,” was no exception to this phenomenon.  The year of 1967 saw a total of 159 riots.  The biggest riots occurred in Newark, New Jersey and Detroit, Michigan.  However, riots also broke out in Tampa, Florida; Houston, Texas; Buffalo, New York; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.  In the Detroit riots, there were 2,000 injuries, and in the Newark riots, there were 1,500 injuries.  As the summer dragged on, the numbers increased dramatically from other parts of the US.  Rioting was starting to become a regularity, and Americans came to expect violence and turmoil from poor black communities.  Racial tensions were still at an all-time high, and blacks were not planning to stop fighting for their rights.